Today, Knight Foundation is gathering a group of media thought leaders for a discussion about new ways for people to participate in elections through digital tools and content. Follow the conversation via #knightelect.

Just as technology and social media are getting credit for aiding democratic movements across the Mideast, millions of Americans remain disengaged in the civic issues that touch their lives. For the voters who are paying attention, the polarization that dominates American politics has eroded trust in media organizations, leading to questions about how truly informed the public is in today’s stratified media landscape. So this week, Knight Foundation has called together technologists, academics and journalists to briefly stop, collaborate and listen (as Vanilla Ice would say).

They are practitioners in the political press, social observers and technological creators. Here in Miami, more than 30 of these timely and prescient thinkers will be exploring the state of campaign and political coverage in America. They will look at what’s going wrong, what’s going right, and whether journalism’s technological evolution can empower a more civicaly engaged public.

The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s Kathleen Hall Jamieson will kick things off this morning, which we’ll be posting about and live-tweeting with the hashtag #knightelect. But most of the day will feature conversation: What can the creator of internet meme I Can Haz Cheeseburger teach journalists about collaborative storytelling? What does the author of The Filter Bubble think news organizations should do to break audiences out of their self-selected bubbles? And what do political journalists from traditional media like CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post see as the toughest challenges they face in covering campaigns and elections on digital platforms?

A sample of the topics on the minds of our participants:

• Improving the computing and interpreting of polling data – and visualizing it;
• Finding the right way to inject the global perspective into American elections and government coverage;
• Achieving more meaningful citizen involvement and creating communities so voters can interact with one another;
• Going beyond fact-checking of claims and ads during campaign season;
• Creating the tools that can build a stronger information ecology around political coverage.

Almost exactly a year out from the nation’s next presidential Election Day, the organizers are hoping to emerge from this weekend’s gathering with concrete ideas for new tools, technology or approaches to increase the engagement of voters. The question of how (and whether) technology can better engage the public is vexing and complex. But we’re diving in.

Elise Hu is covering the event as a freelance blogger for KnightBlog. She is the digital editor of StateImpact at NPR.